Storage battery



Feb. 25, 1947. SMYTH STORAGE BATTERY Filed July 14, 1943 INVENTOR. .75///-/ A. 5 M rm Patented Beluga? an. month. an Cleveland, Ohio, assignor'to Willard Storage Battery Company, Cleveland, I

a corporation of Virginia I I ApplicationJuiy Id, 1943, Serial No. 494,673;

. 1 This invention relates to r batteries and Darticularly to storage batteries of the flashlight type,

and has for its object to providea battery which can be produced relatively inexpensively and Theinvention relates particularly to the bottom terminal of the battery which is generally'formedwhich is efllcient in operation.

of lead. In accordance with the present invenbeformedvery inexpensively as compared with a casing which is\molded with an integral bottom. It will be noted that in this instance 1 form the bottom of the casing ill from a lead cup tion, this bottom terminal is in the form'of a cup 7 which extends across the entire bottom of the battery and in fact forms the bottom of the battery, thus permitting the casing in the preferred tom of the invention to be made of a section of an extruded tube insteadof being'molded,

thus materially reducing the expense oi the batmarized as consisting in certain novelidetails of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which .will be described in the speciiication andset forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings showing v the preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved battery; 1

Fig. 2 is a top plan view; and

Fig. 3 is a bottom view.

Referring now to the drawings, iil' represents the casing of the battery which is of tubular-- form, and Ii and I2 represent, respectively. P051- tive and negative plates which, as usual, are separated by strips of insulation I 3. The positive plates II have upstanding lugs it which are connected to a strap II from which extends a con-. ductor It with a terminal ll located preferably at the central top of the cover II. In this instance both the casing Ill .and the cover ll are formed of suitable insulating material, such as The invention may be further briefly. sum-- 22 constituting the bottom terminal which cup is provided with an upstandingiiange 23 fitting closely abouts. reduced part.24 formed atIthelower end of the casing. in. Preferably also the cup-shaped bottom terminal 22 is provided with a groove25 which receiveszthe extreme lower end of the reduced part 24 of the tubular casing Ill.

The cup-shaped bottom terminaliispressed onto the reduced end of the tubing or casing i0 and is sealedvwith a suitable cementor sealing compound. Before assembling the cup-shaped bottom terminal .22 and the casing .or tube It, I prefer to coat the upstanding walls of the terminal 22 both on the inside and outside with a suitable 1 will provide an excellent bond between the bottom terminal 22 and the reduced lower .end 24 of'the as casing in when-the solvent dries. I prefer to use polystyrene. As here shown, the cover is fitted over the tubular casing in and cemented thereto. The conductor It extends through a lead bushing it which can be cast with an opening therethrough, and the top terminal I! is formed by lead-soldering the upper end of the conductor to the lead bushing l9. If desired, the bushing i9 may be formed by pouring molten lead around the upper end of'the conductor It, in which event the conductor will becom'e fuse'd in the body of lead forming the bushing I! which then becomes the top terminal, Additionally, the cover I! is provided with a vent opening 20 and a filler plug 2i.

It is to be noted that, as here shown, the casing i0 is tubular in form and is preferably produced from an extruded tube made in a tube mill and cut into suitable lengths. Thus the casing i II can .acid-resistantmaterial in the form of a coating compound. to which has been added a solvent for the polystyrene. This solvent. will soften the polystyrene as 'well as the coating compound and a coating compound having avinyl resinv base with a suitable hydrocarbon solvent which serves to soften both the vinyl resin and the polystyrene of the casing ill." The inside portion of the lead cup-shaped bottom terminal 22 may or may not be coated inasmuch as it is covered with an insulating pad 29 for a purpose to be explained. The tongue and groove joint formed by the groove 2! and by the lower end or the tubular casing Ill fitting therein assists in effectively sealing the battery against leakage.

The negative plates are also provided with up-' standing lugs 28 which are connected by a strap 21. The strap 21 is suitably connected to the bottom terminal 22. In this instance, the middle negative plate, designated l2a, has a bottom'lug 2! which extends into an opening in the bottom terminal 22 and is connected to the bottom'terminal'22 by pouring molten metal into this openin: as shown at 22a, but, if desired, the bottom lug 28 may be extended through an opening in the bottom terminal 22 and lead-burned therein. However, it is not essential that the bottom lug 2! be on the middle plate -as,it may be provided on any one of the negative plates.

It will be understood that the plate' .li, l2, and Ho rest upon the insulating pad 29 and thus remain out of contact with the lead cupshaped bottom terminal 22.

The lugs l4 extending from the positive plates I from movement and also holding down-an insulating liner which is preferably placed around j the plates between the plates and the casing I0. This liner is indicated at 3| in Fig. 3. The baffle 30 has an upstanding flange 30a which engages 3 and the lugs 28 extending from the negative plates pass through slots formed in a baiile II this baflie assisting in holding the battery plates the inner wall of the casing II and is cemented in place. The bailie has a central opening 32.

It is to be understood that the upper end of polystyrene casing or tube Hi. This slight space i 33 isprovided to serve as an expansion joint 1 the flange 23 of the cup-shaped bottom terminal a 22 does not quite meet the shoulder formed at I the ,upper end oi the reduced portion 24 of the between the bottom terminal and-the casing l0.

Although the present invention attains its greatest utility when the casing is in the form 0! a tube and the cover I8 is a separate member and applied thereto, it also has application to a molded container where the cover or top is integral with the side wall of the casing and suit- I able openings provided in the top to permit it to function as a cover.

In this instance, alter the conductor i6 is lead-burned in place to form I the top terminal the lead cup 22 is applied and cemented to the casing as before.

Thus it will'be seen that the objects of the invention are attained very effectively by the construction illustrated, and while I have shown illustratedand described but aim in my claims the preferred embodiment of the invention, I do not desire to be confined to the precise details I to cover all modifications which do not involve a 35 1 departure from the spiritand the scope-oi the j invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. In a storage battery, the combination of a a tubular casing vformed of insulating material,

positive and negativ plates within said casing,

I an insulating. closure member having a filling opening therein secured to one end of said tubular member, a terminal'member carried by said 010- sure member, a metal closure member having an annular peripheral flange cemented to the other end of said casing, a conductor connected to the plates of one polarity and to said terminal member, and means for connectingthe plates of opposite polarity to said metal closure member,

3 said metal closure member having inside of said v flange a groove of less depth than the height of said flange and said casing having its end fitted into said groove and enveloped by said flange.

2. In a storage battery; the combination 01' a tubular casing formed of insulating material, positive and negative plates within said casing, an insulating closure member having a filler opening therein secured to one end of said casing,

a terminal member carried by said insulating closure member, a metal closure member having an annular peripheral flange cemented to the other end of said casing, abaflle adjacent to one end of said plates and secured to the inner wall of said casing, lugs on said plates passing through said battle, a strap connected to the lugs of the plates oi one polarity, a connector connected to one of said straps and to said terminal member, insulating means within said closure member for spacing said plates connected to said strap from said metal closure member,

a second strap connected to the lugs of the plates oi. opposite polarity, andv means for connecting said last-mentioned plates to said metal closure member, said metal closure member having inside of said flange a groove of less depth than the height of said flange and said tubular casing having its end fitted into said groove and enveloped by said flange.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are oi record in the;

tile oi?v this patent: p

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number JOHN R. SMYTH. j 

